Seoul tries to calm jittery north

South Korea has tried to soothe an increasingly agitated North Korea, attempting to reassure the communist state that the United States does not plan to attack it.

With fears rising in Pyongyang that the US will target North Korea after Iraq, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday dismissed the speculation as "inaccurate and groundless".

"In every meeting that I have had with responsible US officials, they told me 'Iraq is a different case from North Korea and we want a peaceful resolution of the problem'," the President was quoted by chief spokeswoman Song Kyung-hee as saying.

The attempt by Seoul to reassure North Korea comes as relations between the two Koreas have reached their lowest point since the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear arms program began in October.

After maintaining formal contacts throughout the crisis, North Korea has pulled out of economic talks with the south this week.");document.write("

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The North Korean move followed a report that Seoul had increased its security alert against the north once the Iraq war started.

A South Korean presidential official announced the increased security last week but the Government has since retracted the statement.

South Korea said the announcement was a mistake. "We have sent a telephone message to North Korea and I think they now understand the situation," the president's senior security adviser, Ra Jong-yil, said.

A senior Japanese official, Shinzo Abe, said over the weekend the US had no plans to attack North Korea and any military action would have to have the consent of Tokyo and Seoul.

A United Nations envoy, Maurice Strong, reported after a trip to North Korea that the country was preparing for a possible war with the US.